High winds warning as St Helens braced for Storm Erik

Tony Gleave

St Helens residents have been warned to batten down the hatches as the region prepares to be hit by high winds tonight and tomorrow.

The region’s power network operator, Electricity North West says it is on hand and prepared for the first named storm of the year, Storm Erik.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for wind for Saturday between midnight and 3pm with gales forecast for the whole of the region.

Strong winds can cause power cuts by blowing debris into overhead power lines or bringing lines down.

In response, Electricity North West has added more engineers on standby with colleagues across the organisation monitoring the forecast and poised to respond.

Samantha Loukes, incident manager for the company, said: “Over the next 48 hours, we’ll be closely monitoring the weather to ensure any damage is repaired and power returns as quickly as possible if it does go off.

“We are always prepared and well-rehearsed, working around the clock to mobilise our engineers during incidents such as this.

“We would urge people that if they do see any damage to our overhead power lines, to please stay away and report it to us immediately so we can repair it safely.

“As always, we are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week if customers need any help or advice.”

Cumbria, unsurprisingly, is expected to get the worst of Storm Erik in the region. The winds are expected to abate later on Saturday.

Electricity North West offers extra support to customers through their Priority Services Register. Extra support is available to customers if they require it.

You can find advice on how to stay safe and prepared, view live power cut information, and sign up to Electricity North West’s Priority Services Register at www.enwl.co.uk/powercuts.